So, for whatever unexpected reason, I got to attend dinner with the board of trustees tonight. It was excellent. I mean, there’s free food, and then there’s the food we got. I don’t think I’ll be eating beef tenderloin with crab and bearnaise sauce on the school’s tab again anytime soon.
Besides the fact that the food was awesome, I had a really good time. There was a reception at the president’s house beforehand, with an open bar. If there’s one thing that’s cooler than getting free food, it’s getting free drinks on the school’s tab, with no carding(!). And I thought the opportunity to meet some important people alone was going to make the whole thing worthwhile.
One trustee I spent quite a bit of time talking to was a former director of the National Observatory in Arizona. We talked about a lot of things, especially how politics affect science. It was great to hear a perspective from someone who had actually lobbied Congress for funding and worked within the political system. So much of what we talk about in classes is so distanced from the action that even if it makes sense, it’s difficult to be sure that it’s still useful in the real world.
At dinner, my table had several faculty as well as a young alumni trustee. She couldn’t have been more than 30. I was expecting the trustees to be stodgy and unexciting, so getting to talk to someone close to my age made the whole thing even better.
…OK, so I lied. There was a reason I was invited. I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was selected because of my old Jeopardy! stint. President Oden asked people to “ask the people next to you why they’re here.” When people asked, I just sort of shrugged my shoulders. But then, in the middle of dinner, Norm Vig (a retired Poli Sci prof) blurted out, “So, how much money did you win on that quiz show?” I managed to get off the subject quickly enough.
The whole experience was really a great time, and not just for the food (or the drinks). It made me want to do more cool things so that I can go back. Also, it made me want to become a young alumni trustee. But most of all, it was a nice change of pace from the usual weekend revelry (see Rotblatt).
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